Telomeric NAP1L4 and OSBPL5 of the KCNQ1 cluster, and the DECORIN gene are not imprinted in human trophoblast stem cells

Background: Genomic imprinting of the largest known cluster, the Kcnq1/KCNQ1 domain on mChr7/hChr11, displays significant differences between mouse and man. Of the fourteen transcripts in this cluster, imprinting of six is ubiquitous in mice and humans, however, imprinted expression of the other eight transcripts is only found in the mouse placenta. The human orthologues of the latter eight transcripts are biallelically expressed, at least from the first trimester onwards. However, as early development is less divergent between species, placental specific imprinting may be present in very early gestation in both mice and humans. Methodology/Principal Findings: Human embryonic stem (hES) cells can be differentiated to embryoid bodies and then to trophoblast stem (EB-TS) cells. Using EB-TS cells as a model of post-implantation invading cytotrophoblast, we analysed allelic expression of two telomeric transcripts whose imprinting is placental specific in the mouse, as well as the ncRNA KCNQ1OT1, whose imprinted expression is ubiquitous in early human and mouse development. KCNQ1OT1 expression was monoallelic in all samples but OSBPL5 and NAP1L4 expression was biallelic in EB-TS cells, as well as undifferentiated hES cells and first trimester human fetal placenta. DCN on hChr12, another gene imprinted in the mouse placenta only, was also biallelically expressed in EB-TS cells. The germline maternal methylation imprint at the KvDMR was maintained in both undifferentiated hES cells and EB-TS cells. Conclusions/Significance: The question of placental specific imprinting in the human has not been answered fully. Using a model of human trophoblast very early in gestation we show a lack of imprinting of two telomeric genes in the KCNQ1 region and of DCN, whose imprinted expression is placental specific in mice, providing further evidence to suggest that humans do not exhibit placental specific imprinting. The maintenance of both differential methylation of the KvDMR and monoallelic expression of KCNQ1OT1 indicates that the region is appropriately regulated epigenetically in vitro. Human gestational load is less than in the mouse, resulting in reduced need for maternal resource competition, and therefore maybe also a lack of placental specific imprinting. If genomic imprinting exists to control fetal acquisition of maternal resources driven by the placenta, placenta-specific imprinting may be less important in the human than the mouse

Graphitic carbon materials for energy and environment

Over the years, carbon has become one of the most intensively investigated topics in both industry and academia and has wide ranging applications in energy conversion, energy storage, adsorption, sensing, photo-electrical water splitting, water purification and gas separation. Recently, carbon materials have been widely used for advancement of energy conversion and water remediation applications due to its unique physicochemical properties, surface chemistry, processability, mechanical stability and chemical resistance. Furthermore, carbon may form porous structures and be assembled in different shapes such as spheres, tubes, fibers, sheets and 3D structures providing a high degree of versatility for multiple applications. The low cost is advantageous in many catalytic applications for the replacement of expensive and less abundant metal catalysts such as platinum, which is heavily relied upon for fuel cells as an oxygen reduction catalyst. In this context, the Ph.D. project focussed on the synthesis of graphitic carbon composite materials with unique morphologies to the benefit of energy and environmental applications. The following four concepts were developed and explored in this thesis and summarised as: 1. Fabrication of a unique 3D- nitrogen doped carbon composite materials of N-doped carbon nanotubes and N-doped carbon spheres from bio source their application as oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts The synthesis of nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNT) and N-doped carbon micro spheres (N-CMS) composites were demonstrated using low cost and eco-friendly bio source galactose, iron oxide nanoparticles (maghemite) and nitrogen precursor melamine. This unique integrated structure containing N-CNT and N-CMS showed enhanced ORR catalytic activity via predominantly four - electron kinetics (n = 3.55 - 3.64 in the potential range of 0.10 – 0.70 V (RHE)) with a low HO₂⁻ yield (22.44 – 16.96 % in the potential range of 0.10 – 0.70 V (RHE)). Furthermore, in the context of eliminating hazardous chemical usage and to utilise more green products as ORR catalysts, galactose containing naturally occurring apricot sap was used to synthesise a similar electro catalyst as described above using maghemite nanoparticles (N-APG-Fe) and a cobalt precursor (N-APG-Co). Both catalysts formed similar integrated structures comprise of N-CNT and N-CMS as mentioned above and showed excellent oxygen reduction properties with an electron transfer number 3.61 for both N-APG-Co and N-APG-Fe catalysts at 0.40 V (RHE) and low HO₂⁻ yield (> 20.00 %) for both catalysts. The presented synthetic concept opens doors for new approaches for the development of low cost non-hazardous hybrid catalysts using abundantly available bio sources and green products. 2. Investigation of different phases of low iron oxide catalysts as an alternative for Pt/C catalysts for ORR To explore the use of cheap, abundant and freely available iron oxide catalyst as a potential substituent for the expensive and scarce Pt catalysts, four different phases of iron oxide nanoparticles (magnetite, maghemite, hematite and goethite) were synthesised and systematically evaluated as oxygen reduction catalysts for ORR. The four different phases were separately synthesised and prudently dispersed in 3D-reduced graphene oxide aerogels without exposing them for any phase changes. These catalysts (rGO/Fe₃O₄, rGO/γ-Fe₂O₃, rGO/α-Fe₂O₃ and rGO/α-FeOOH) investigated as electro catalysts for oxygen reduction did not show significant enhancement for ORR compared to the standard Pt/C catalysts. Comparative study showed that rGO/Fe₃O₄ and rGO/γ-Fe₂O₃ catalysts with inverse spinel structures with magnetic and electron conduction properties showed significantly higher ORR activity compared to rGO/α-Fe₂O₃ and rGO/α-FeOOH with rhombohedral and orthorhombic structures, respectively. The outcome of these investigations revealed the need for the exploration of more spinel structure of different metal oxides to be investigated as low-cost substituent to the expensive Pt/C catalysts for ORR. 3. Synthesis of macro porous N-doped carbon catalysts using sulphonated aniline oligomers (SAO) and SAO/ phenol formaldehyde (PF) and SAO/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composites for ORR Sulphonated aniline oligomers (SAO) with distinctive microstructures of flakes and rods were synthesised using aniline and oxidants; and used for the synthesis 3D N-doped composite combining phenol formaldehyde (PF) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) pyrolysed with a nitrogen precursor (melamine). The electrochemical characterization confirmed that composites with higher concentration of pyridinic nitrogen species (42 At%) showed higher positive onset potential of 0.98 V and performed the ORR with four - electron transfer kinetics (n = 3.64) with a low yield of HO₂⁻ (19 %) at 0.50 V (RHE) compared to low concentration of pyridinic nitrogen (37 At%) and higher concentration of graphitic nitrogen (63 At%). Composites prepared with conductive graphene structures displayed higher current density of 7.89 mA/cm², which is more than 60 % of the standard Pt catalysts. This unique procedure demonstrates a new approach of synthesising macro porous carbon structures with potentially viable composites of carbon materials for many future catalytic applications. 4. Investigation of different organic coating materials to provide long term air stability to Zero-valent iron (ZVI) and evaluation of air stable materials dispersed in rGO as arsenic adsorbents Zero-valent iron (ZVI) nanoparticles have been extensively investigated for treatment of hazardous and toxic waste from contaminated sites and water remediation both these applications have been hindered due to their low air stability and tendency to agglomerate. To address this problem and stabilize the ZVIs nanoparticles, several coating materials and organic molecules with various functional groups (amine, thiol, hydroxyl and carboxyl) have been demonstrated and evaluated. The results show that the ZVI coated with organic molecules containg carboxyl groups (glycine) has unprecedented stability and shelf life (> 12 months) under atmospheric conditions. To solve the agglomeration problem, the glycine protected ZVI nanoparticles were dispersed in rGO solution to make an atmospherically stable and aggregation-free ZVI-rGO composites. The environmental remediation performance of the prepared composite was evaluated using arsenic (As) solutions and showed an outstanding adsorption efficiency (As(III) (400 mg/g) and As(V) (131 mg/g) over a range of pHs, making ZVI-rGO composites an ideal sorbent for the removal of arsenic in broad remediation applications.Thesis (Ph.D.) (Research by Publication) -- University of Adelaide, School of Chemical Engineering, 201

Latitudinal dependence of supergranular Area and Fractal dimension

Abstract: A dependence of the area of supergranular cells with respect to the Latitude is studied and it is found that the cells are situated symmetrically about the ±250 latitude.Fractal dimension of the supergranular cells also shows a marginal latitudinal dependence, variation being in the range 1.6–1.7 in the latitudinal limits of ±300. Fractal dimension D for supergranulation is obtained according to the relation P ∝ AD/2 where ‘A is the area and ‘P’ is the perimeter of the supergranular cells. A difference in the fractal dimension between the active and quiet region cells is noted which is conjectured to be due to the magnetic activity level.Supergranular cells are essentially a manifestation of convective phenomena. They can shed light on the physical conditions in the convection zone of the Sun. Moreover, supergranules play a key role in the transport and dispersal of magnetic fields as it is an important step in our quest to understand the solar cycle

Advanced Vibration Analysis On Gear Box Train And Vibration Elimination

Case Studypg. 359-38

Pattern of cutaneous adverse drug reactions at a tertiary care hospital in southern India

Background: The objective of the study was to assess the pattern of cutaneous adverse drug reactions reported by active surveillance to the Pharmacovigilance center of a tertiary care hospital in southern india, and also to establish the drugs causing the same and observe the age wise and gender based incidence of such reactions.Methods: The cutaneous ADRs (CADRs) reported to the Pharmacovigilance center of the institution were analysed retrospectively during the period of March 2013 to December 2015. The various pattern of skin reactions and the most frequent drugs causing the same were established. An age wise and gender based incidence of CADRs and drugs causing them were also reported.Results: A total of 293 cases were taken for analysis. The male female ratio was 0.89-1.in our study. Among the age wise distribution of CADRs, 57(19.4%) were seen in paediatric, 194(66.2%) in adults and 33(11.2%) in geriatric age groups. The most frequent drugs to cause the CADRs were antimicrobials 183(62.4%) followed by NSAIDs 38(12.9%) and antacids 17(5.8%).Among the skin reactions urticaria/ angioedema was the most common 109(37.2%) followed by generalised pruritis 57(19.5%) and fixed drug eruption 37(12.6%). In all the age groups and both the sexes urticaria/angioedema and generalised pruritis were the leading skin reactions observed.Conclusions: As CADRs are the most common ADRs among others, it is prudent to monitor them closely, as any change in pattern with older or newer agents can alert the health care personnel in instituting the appropriate prescription patterns, which can overall impact the quality of health care positively

How Important Are The Protection Systems & Valve Design That Can Contribute To The Equipment Integrity On Reciprocating Compressors

Case Stud

Depositional Environment, Petrology, and Diagenesis of Red Fork Sandstone in Central Dewey County, Oklahoma

Geolog

Phytochemical screening, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous activities of ethanol and hexane extracts of Urochloa ramosa

Urochloa ramosa is known for its environmental benefits such as stabilization and reclamation of polluted soils, in agriculture to control root-knot nematodes infecting crops, in medicine to treat cardiovascular diseases, duodenal ulcer, hyperglycemia, nephritis and snake bites. Qualitative analyses of phytochemicals in ethanol and hexane extracts were performed by standard methods. In vitro anti-microbial assay was performed against gram positive bacteria viz., Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, Gram negative bacteria viz., Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli and fungus Candida albicans by disc diffusion method. Hexane extract of Urochloa ramosa was found to be 70% effective against Candida albicans indicating potent antifungal property. In vitro anti-inflammatory activity was performed by albumin denaturation assay, proteinase inhibition activity assay and membrane stabilization assay using various concentrations of extracts with Aspirin and Diclofenac sodium as standard. Heat induced protein denaturation was considerably prevented by ethanol and hexane extract at concentrations between 200-500 µg/ml resulting in 60 and 62% inhibition respectively. Heat induced haemolysis of erythrocyte was remarkably inhibited (59 and 68 % respectively) at concentration of 500 µg/ml. 62 and 65 % Hypotonicity induced haemolysis was also inhibited between concentration of 300-500 µg/ml in both extracts respectively. Inhibition of formation of new blood vessels by Chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay proved anti-angiogenic effects of extracts. Purification, characterization and structural elucidation of bioactive molecules present in ethanol and hexane extracts are needed to be explored further for assessment of better biological activites than crude extract